Manama on the Persian Gulf

6 November 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Bahrain Financial Harbour under construction in 2011 © Majed othman almajed/cc-by-sa-3.0

Bahrain Financial Harbour under construction in 2011 © Majed othman almajed/cc-by-sa-3.0

Manama is the capital and largest city of Bahrain, with an approximate population of 155,000 people. Long an important trading center in the Persian Gulf, Manama is home to a very diverse population. In the 20th century, Bahrain’s oil wealth helped spur fast growth and in the 1990s a concerted diversification effort led to expansion in other industries and helped transform Manama into an important financial hub in the Middle East. Manama was designated as the capital of Arab culture for the year 2012 by the Arab League.   read more…

Theme Week Dubai on the southeast coast of the Arabian Gulf

30 October 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Dubai, Bon voyage, Theme Weeks Reading Time:  10 minutes

Dubai Creek © Shahid1024/cc-by-sa-3.0

Dubai Creek © Shahid1024/cc-by-sa-3.0

Dubai is a city in the United Arab Emirates, located within the emirate. The emirate of Dubai is located on the southeast coast of the Arabian Gulf and is one of the seven emirates that make up the country. It has the largest population in the UAE (2,100,000) and the second-largest land territory by area (4,114 km2) after Abu Dhabi, the national capital. Dubai and Abu Dhabi are the only two emirates to have veto power over critical matters of national importance in the country’s legislature. The city of Dubai is located on the emirate’s northern coastline and heads up the Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman metropolitan area. Dubai is nowadays often misperceived as a country or city-state and, in some cases, the UAE as a whole has been described as ‘Dubai’.   read more…

Doha on the Persian Gulf

9 October 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Doha Montage © flickr.com - amjra/cc-by-sa-2.0

Doha Montage © flickr.com – amjra/cc-by-sa-2.0

Doha (englisch: The Bay)is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the coast of the Persian Gulf, it has a population of 800,0000, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar. Doha is Qatar’s largest city, with over 60% of the nation’s population residing in Doha or its surrounding suburbs, and is also the economic centre of the country. Doha was included in Fortune’s 15 best new cities for business for the year 2011.   read more…

Tehran, economical, scientific and cultural center of Iran

25 September 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  17 minutes

Tehran Towers and buildings in the northern part of Tehran with the Alborz mountains © Shervan Karim/cc-by-sa-3.0

Tehran Towers and buildings in the northern part of Tehran with the Alborz mountains © Shervan Karim/cc-by-sa-3.0

Tehran is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With a population of about 8,800,000 and about 15 million metropolitan area, it is Iran’s largest city and urban area, and one of the largest cities in Western Asia.   read more…

The Dubai Mall

9 March 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Dubai, House of the Month, Shopping Reading Time:  6 minutes

Dubai Mall seen from Burj Khalifa © Intelpower

Dubai Mall seen from Burj Khalifa © Intelpower

The Dubai Mall is the world’s largest shopping mall based on total area and sixth largest by gross leasable area. Located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, it is part of the 20-billion-dollar Burj Khalifa complex, and includes 1,200 shops. Access to the mall is provided via Doha Street, rebuilt as a double-decker road in April 2009.   read more…

Dubailand will be twice the size of Walt Disney World Resort

21 July 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Dubai Reading Time:  7 minutes

© dubailand.ae

© dubailand.ae

Dubailand is an entertainment complex being built in Dubai, which is owned by Tatweer (which belongs to Dubai Holding). When announced in 2003 it was one of the most ambitious leisure developments ever proposed anywhere in the world costing 64.3 billion, but development has been severely impacted by global recession and Dubai’s financial crisis. The development was put on hold in 2008 and in mid 2013 resumed.   read more…

Theme Week Abu Dhabi – Yas Island

18 July 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Hotels Reading Time:  4 minutes

Yas Viceroy Hotel © yasisland.ae

Yas Viceroy Hotel © yasisland.ae

Yas Marina Island is an artificial island in Abu Dhabi near natural Sir Bani Yas island. The island is the site of a US$36 billion development project by Aldar Properties. It occupies a total land area of 2,500 hectares, of which 1,700 hectares will be claimed for development. The island holds the Yas Island Circuit, which hosts the Formula One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix since 2009.   read more…

Theme Week Abu Dhabi – The Emirates Palace Hotel

22 February 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Hotels Reading Time:  6 minutes

© Poco a poco

© Poco a poco

The building was designed by renowned architect, John Elliott RIBA, who was Senior Vice President at Wimberly, Allison, Tong and Goo, an international firm specialising in Luxury Hotels. It opened in November 2005 but certain restaurants and spas did not open until 2006. The hotel was built by and is owned by the Abu Dhabi government, and is currently managed by the Kempinski Group.   read more…

Theme Week Dubai – Welcome to Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world

5 June 2011 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Dubai, House of the Month Reading Time:  11 minutes

Burj Khalifa, view from Palace Hotel © Titoni Thomas

Burj Khalifa, view from Palace Hotel © Titoni Thomas

Burj Khalifa’s Grand Vision
World’s tallest building. A living wonder. Stunning work of art. Incomparable feat of engineering. Burj Khalifa is all that. In concept and execution, Burj Khalifa has no peer. More than just the world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa is an unprecedented example of international cooperation, symbolic beacon of progress, and an emblem of the new, dynamic and prosperous Middle East. It is also tangible proof of Dubai’s growing role in a changing world. In fewer than 30 years, this city has transformed itself from a regional centre to a global one. This success was not based on oil reserves, but on reserves of human talent, ingenuity and initiative. Burj Khalifa embodies that vision.   read more…

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